Andy Burnham accused of having 'no backbone' over EU reset: 'Out of his depth!'

Richard Fuller has launched a scathing attack on Andy Burnham, accusing him of having "no backbone" over plans to reset the UK's relationship with the European Union.

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury urged the PM to "get a grip" and stop pointing the country in the "wrong direction".

Amid reports of Mr Burnham wanting to closer align with the bloc, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been invited by the EU to become an "associate member".

On Wednesday, European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen threw her support behind "opening the door" to establish much closer ties with Canada across key sectors.

Asked by host Mark White whether Canada's new ties to the EU are a "blueprint" for the UK to follow, Mr Fuller was quick to disagree.

He told GB News: "No, and in fact, I think he, the Prime Minister, is pointing us in the wrong direction.

"The British people want a Prime Minister who can get a grip on the economy and get a grip on the pressures they have on their budgets. We need a Prime Minister who can get a grip on the taxes on our businesses."

The Conservative MP accused the Prime Minister of being "out of his depth" in his handling of the country.

He said: "Today, we're saying that the Chancellor should rule out even more tax increases on business, and instead we have a Prime Minister who seems to be a little bit out of his depth.

"Now he's got the top job and thinks that the right answer for the British people is to get the European Union to make the decisions for us once again, that's the wrong approach.

"We need a Prime Minister who is strong on principle, who's got a backbone and is going to lead this country so that we can prosper as a nation state. That's what we need."

Looking ahead to October's Budget, Mr Fuller agreed with the Prime Minister's admission that it will be "challenging" for Britons.

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Mr Fuller said: "The Prime Minister is right to say it's challenging, and part of the reason for that is over the last two years we've had a Government increasing taxes and increasing spending.

"But there is a political choice of when you're faced with that challenge. As a Government, you can either say the answer is more spending and more regulation, or you can say that we want to look to reduce public spending so that we have the capacity not only to bring down the debt burden, but also to find space for tax cuts."

The Conservative minister took aim at the PM further, arguing: "The Prime Minister is very keen to take us back to the 1970s.

"Those of us who were around in the 1970s remember that decade as a period of decline and of despair high interest rates, high inflation, high energy costs.

"And ultimately then the British people went on the path say enough with big Government, let our businesses prosper. Get off the backs of the British people and let them be free to make the decisions with their own money, rather than have the Government waste it for them."

Mr Fuller urged Chancellor John Healey to "send a signal" to British businesses that he will "not raise taxes" and further their burden.

He concluded: "The Conservative Party want to get the taxman off the back of our business. We want to free up time for small businesses as sole traders, so they can work on trying to improve their business, serve more customers rather than trying to having to fill in endless forms.

"But we also need to send the signal on taxes, too, and the signal the Chancellor should be sending today for his Budget coming up in October is that he will not increase taxes on business. That will give businesses the incentive to go out and invest now, rather than worry to work out what's coming around the corner in a few weeks time."